By Mrskipper
United Kingdom 
We have had these cordylines happily in pots for about 5 years. This year the leaves have gone very dry, brittle and brown. There seem to be spikes growing from the Center and one of them has new shoots appearing from the base of the plant. Any information as to the reason for this would be very welcome. I'm hoping they aren't dying as they are a lovely focal point on our decking.
8 Jul, 2018
Answers
If you want to keep these plants in pots, you will need to use much larger ones. These red varieties of the plant can eventually become trees reaching at least 14 feet high so will do better when planted in the garden.
8 Jul, 2018
If you want to you can remove shoots from the base and grow them on into new plants.
8 Jul, 2018
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Welcome to GoY, Mrskipper!
When did you notice the damage? If it came out of the winter that way, it was probably damaged by the severe frosts that I hear folks inthe UK have experienced last winter. If the damage just happened recently, I would suspect that it wasn't watered enough. Even semi-arid plants like cordylines have their limits.
8 Jul, 2018